Detroit Pistons: Dumars, Pistons have huge summer ahead

I’m not sure why I keep going on these Detroit Pistons tangents in the midst of one of the best NBA playoffs in recent years, but I can’t stress enough how huge this summer is for the this organization.

With money at their disposal, a top 10 pick in the 2013 NBA draft and young talent that can be shopped around, the Pistons are in a great position to once again contend in the Eastern Conference. And while free agency is probably the biggest of the Pistons concerns going forward, whoever they select in the upcoming NBA draft could dictate their moves for the rest of the offseason.

A few weeks back I put together an article that showed who I believe the Pistons should pick in the draft, and since then, my mind hasn’t changed too much. While a shooting guard and small forward are the Pistons primary needs, if Michigan point guard Trey Burke is sitting there when the Pistons select I think he will be their choice.

Aside from his ties with Joe Dumars (Burke played briefly with Dumars’ son, Jordan, while at Michigan), I believe Burke has the best upside in the draft and could benefit the current Pistons roster immensely.

Burke is one of three players that the Pistons would benefit most from selecting. The other two players? Lehigh guard C.J. McCollum and Georgia shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Both of these guys can light up the scoreboard: McCollum averaged 23.9 points per game as a senior and Caldwell-Pope (underclassmen) averaged 18.5 ppg during his sophomore season. Scoring from the perimeter is something that the Pistons lacked consistently this season, and unless Burke is available at seven, I believe these two guys have the potential to be the best scorers in the draft.

However, while all three of these guys could be potential options for the Pistons, each selection would force the Pistons to bring different pieces in via trade or free agency this summer. And if Dumars and staff play their cards right I truly believe there will be more fans in the seats next season and more victories in the win column.

Now, it’s time for another hypothetical situation (Yayyyyyy!) in which my hopeful mind generates the best possibilities for the Pistons based on which of the three they select (Yes, I’m that confident that the Pistons will select one of these players. Kind of…not really).

Trey Burke (AP PHOTO)

Trey Burke:

If the Pistons draft Burke — assuming he is available — then they have some major decisions going forward with Brandon Knight. The best case scenario in this situation would be to start Burke at point guard and trade Knight. One player whose name I keep hearing on around in possible trade talks is Indiana small forward Danny Granger. The former NBA All-Star missed the majority of this season with a knee injury, and with the emergence of Paul George, it could be possible that the Pacers are trying to ship Granger and his contract. If this trade happened it would give the Pistons a future, a TRUE point guard and a proven small forward to go with big men Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond.

So, if some form of that trade miraculous happens that still leaves the Pistons open to a huge move via free agency. One player who is available is O.J. Mayo. I think he would be the exact player the Pistons need at shooting guard — young, a hard worker and a scorer — and it wouldn’t cost them so much money to the point that they couldn’t grab significant bench players or give Monroe a long-term deal.

Here is what the starting lineup would look like if this illusion comes true:

PG – Burke

SG – Mayo

SF- Granger

PF- Monroe

C – Drummond

Look’s solid to me. Matter of fact, it looks damn good.

C.J. McCollum:

McCollum can score the ball, no question. I recently compared him — as did many others — to Portland rookie Damian Lillard. Standing at 6-foot-3, I don’t see McCollum being a shooing guard — which would add another trademark “tweener” to the Pistons roster — but he can be a successful scoring point guard.

Similar to the Burke scenario, if the Pistons draft McCollum then Knight has to go. I still think adding a more offensively minded small forward like Granger is what the Pistons should aim for in dealing Knight, but the difference in this scenario comes via free agency. If the Pistons package a deal to get Granger or maybe (this is a reach) Harrison Barnes then I think they should aim for a more defensively minded guard/forward via free agency. Someone like Andre Iguodala could fit perfectly in this situation. It would maybe be tight financially, but I think they could find a way to get it done.

Potential lineup:

PG – McCollum

SG – Granger

SF – Iguodala

PF – Monroe

C – Drummond

Not a bad scenario if you ask me, but I’m more of a fan of the Burke lineup.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope:

Similar to McCollum, Caldwell-Pope is another under the radar (publicly that is) guy that could potentially fill the scoring void on the wing for the Pistons. Caldwell-Pope is a true shooing guard — standing at 6-foot-5 — and is only 20 years old.

Guess what happens in this scenario? You guessed it! Knight traded. For who you ask? Granger? Yep! I really think Granger’s injury this season could scare the Pacers and cause them to move him due to the fact that they don’t want to take the chance that he comes back and struggles and then they get nothing in return for him. If the Pistons get Caldwell-Pope and trade for a Granger-esque player, I believe that they will go after a point guard via free agency. Two that really attract me –aside from Chris Paul who wouldn’t even think twice of coming to Detroit — are Golden State’s Jarrett Jack and Atlanta’s Devin Harris. These two guys catch my eye because they won’ t be too expensive, they are aggressive on both ends of the floor and they have experience in the league. If I had to chose between the two I would go with Jack because I believe he is more consistent than Harris.

This is my least favorite lineup scenario, but it’s definitely an upgrade from recent years:

PG – Jack

SG – Caldwell-Pope

SF – Granger

PF – Monroe

C – Drummond

Hopefully something positive comes out of this offseason for Pistons fans, but with the front office’s recent track record I wouldn’t be surprised if another disappointing summer comes and goes.

About James Edwards III

I cover MSU basketball and football for isportsweb.com. Also, I'm a senior at Michigan State University where I am majoring in journalism. Hailing from Flint, Michigan.
You can follow me on Twitter @J_Edwards_MSU

Granger in my opinion is going to be another uniform next season 99%. It’s very obvious when Paul George is having a terrific year and they are having a great year as a team without him. Granger also has an expiring contract which would make him valuable. If his knee is bad don’t resign him if its good he’s yours. I believe joe d will make a call to Indy about granger for sure and mayo is rumored to come to detroit but I’m against players like mayo, he was very inconsistent in Dallas and was criticized by Carlisle

bj

if you draft burke you must resign calderon or some other vet pg. a rookie pg will not be ready to take over this team for a couple years, especially one as small as burke. burke could be great off the bench though, taking bynums role. i disagree about burkes potential as well, of all the draftees, he is already closest to his ceiling as his game is established and he’s not going to get any bigger.

imo pistons have to commit knight to 1 or 2 early in the offseason. moves like mayo and granger imo are video game moves that wont work irl. i wouldnt mind burkee, calderon

James Edwards III

I agree that Burke might not start right away, but who’s to say he isn’t the next Chris Paul? Also, how are Mayo and Granger video game moves? Mayo is a free agent that has been at contenders his whole career but they haven’t worked out, and Granger could easily get moved. Not sure how you think those don’t work.

bj

mayo imo is a me guy and the pistons need vet leadership more than anything. i like burke, i dont see paul though

James Edwards III

Burke’s last season at college: 18.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg and 6.7 apg while shooting 46 percent in the best conference in basketball. Paul last season at college: 15.3 ppg 6.6 apg and 2.2 spg. I don’t really understand how you guys can keep saying Burke has reached his ceiling, but I’m sure you guys thought Paul would be a great NBA player. Size isn’t everything. Matter of fact he is bigger coming out of college than Paul was. So please guys, explain how you don’t see him being a potential star in this league? All the stats point towards yes. You guys are just saying no because of size, but like I said, Paul was smaller.

Zach Tennen

Rare chance that Burke drops. Surprised you don’t have Shabazz Muhammad as a potential pick. That could very easily be the guy we select.

James Edwards III

I agree. At this point I don’t think Burke would drop to seven, but I wouldn’t be surprised.

Also, I don’t have Muhammad on here because these are the three guys — outside of McLemore — that I want them to draft. I’m not sold on Shabazz and everyone that watched him during his freshman season should have more questions now than when he was a senior in high school. He didn’t help his stock at all this year.

I’d love to contribute and write my own articles about the pistons. I am a crazy die hard fan with passion. Here are my critiques to your ideas. Trading knight and brining in mayo is pointless. Burke and mayo present a small backcourt. If Burke is drafted then knight must come off the bench and provide the 6th man role. I would also never in a million years trade knight for granger. This season proved his knee is really banged up. I believe stuckey and jj can get the job done for Donnie Walsh and his pacers. If we don’t take a point guard in the draft I would go for oladiipo or Muhammad and attempt to sign iguoudala. Have knight try to run point guard. If it doesn’t work either trade him or make him the 6th man the following year. We upgrade no matter what. I was believer in resigning Calderon but he’s old and can’t defend so I’d bring him in only if he agrees to back up knight and mentor him, though I doubt he would agree to those terms and of course this is assuming we don’t draft a point guard.

James Edwards III

Moe,

I appreciate your comment. Thanks for the feedback.

1. I’m not sure how bringing in Mayo and trading Knight is pointless, lol. Mayo is significantly better than Knight at this point in his career. Knight is one of the only players besides Drummond and Monroe that they can get significant trade value for.

2. No way that they draft Burke and keep Knight. You’re not going to bring your former 8th overall pick — just a few years ago btw — off the bench for a rookie that plays the same position. That would not only hurt his confidence but it would also show to him that Detroit isn’t sold. He needs to go if they draft Burke.

3. I don’t think this season showed Granger’s knee is banged up terribly, I think it showed that he shouldn’t rush back. He tried to comeback before he was ready, clearly. Knee injuries are serious, but it’s not like his game is like Westbrook’s or D. Rose. I think he will be fine, he just shouldn’t have tried to come back.

4. I’m not sold on Muhammad, and I don’t think anyone that watched him closely this season should be. He really hurt his draft stock. Also, Oladipo will be a good player in this league, but I’m not sure he is what the Pistons need. Pistons need a pure scorer, something Oladipo could blossom into but that’s not what he’s known for now.

The reason I am against bringing in mayo is because he’s just a tad bit undersized and he might be a little expensive. I wouldn’t give him the money he’s probably looking for. I’d rather just stick with knight because I believe signing mayo to a contract would be like bringing back Ben Gordon though not as bad but it all depends on the money and I have a feeling he would want over 8million. Granger doesn’t play off athleticism, you’re right so he could still come back and contribute but he’s out of his prime with a bad knee. That’s why I said stuckey and jj would get the job done. I’m not against bringing in an athletic wing like granger, he fits perfectly but to trade your number 8 pick for him is absurd. The reason I would bring knight off the bench is because like I said it would provide a defensive mismatch if we draft Burke. Confidence aside I believe knight is doing whatever it takes to win. Playing the 6th man role is not how it used to be. We see good players playing that role to help their team, jet, Manu, mayo, and Crawford, even though they didn’t have rookies ahead of them, knight will understand. It’s not like Burke is starting over knight, knight is a undersized sg. I still believe knight can play the one, billups came out of college like this but I wouldn’t pass on Burke. I believe the pistons need athletic wings to defend and shooters on the court to space the floor for Drummond and Monroe needs to consistently knock down that 15ft jump shot and if he can’t do that ill trade him. I am all for drafting Muhammad because he has the potential and athleticism to be a good wing defender and we know he can score. He didn’t have the greatest season but ucla doesn’t run a system where player excel. A top player dropping in the draft could be what we need because that’s what happened to Drummond. As for oladiipo he sounds like a Ronnie brewer with a 3pt shot or a sefalosha with more athletic ability. I’d be reluctant on taking him so early but there’s hype around the guy and he doesn’t fill a major need.

I would be willing to go 10 million for Mayo. He is 25 and can score the ball. Second, it’s not that I want Knight to go but the only way to bring in a solid wing player to Detroit is via trade and he is the only player that the Pistons will be willing to give up that has significant trade value. It’s not that I’m giving up on him, he just still has potential that could get us solid players in return.

I am against paying 10 million for a sg that is on the shorter end for his position and was very inconsistent this past year. We gave Ben Gordon 10 million to shoot and look what happened. I’m not saying mayos signing would result in the same fashion but scoring and shooting is not hard to find. I’d rather have a jj reddick or a Jamal crawford(I know he’s not a fa) for half the money. I will admit reddick receiving that 5 year 40mil extension is pretty expensive but what mayo offers at his size is not worth 10million. If we were to bring in a sg and draft Burke is explore trading for an athletic wing because it is key in today’s NBA but not granger for knight. Knight provides the potential to play either the 1 or 2. He’s a great shooter just inconsistent at this stage of his career but he can develop into a productive scorer. I would much rather sign someone like brewer or tony Allen for cheap then to trade knight for granger. As for the draft I’d consider taking oladiipo and Muhammad because of their ability to defend and as for Muhammad he can score the basketball. It wasn’t showcased at ucla because of the system ran there. What is your opinion on josh smith? Not worth the max in my opinion, offers a liability at the 3 but would you consider signing him if he came to you for let’s say 12-13mil?

James Edwards III

Uh… Moe, Reddick is smaller than Mayo. Not sure why you keep saying Mayo is small if you think Reddick is big, lol. Reddick is 6-foot-4, 190. Mayo is 6-foot-4 210. So, yeah. Also, I’m not sold on Muhammad like I’ve said before. He doesn’t bring it every night and he isn’t anywhere near the defender of Oladipo.

Josh Smith is out of the question for anything less than the Max. He’s made that clear, and I wouldn’t give the max to a player that doesn’t give max effort.

Didn’t realize jj reddick was that short. My whole point being is I feel like he’s going to ask for lots of money and he was inconsistent as a maverick he also doesn’t offer anything to table that would make 10 million plus reasonable. Players like belineli are players that can score for less than half the price, they aren’t as good scoring the ball but they can provide an outside threat for cheap.